Timberwolves finding their groove at the perfect moment

The Minnesota Timberwolves have faced intense scrutiny this season, with their performance being a rollercoaster ride since their impressive run to the Western Conference Finals last season. But now, the narrative surrounding the team is shifting, as they are clearly on an upward trajectory. The Timberwolves have recently claimed victory in five consecutive games and are making a strong push to secure a spot in the Top 6 of the highly competitive Western Conference.

The Timberwolves are coming off a 141-124 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Their current five-game winning run victories over the Suns, the Hornets, the Heat and the 76ers. It’s crucial for the Timberwolves to start stringing wins together at this stage of the season as the stretch run heats up and the playoff race takes shape.

They’ll have a more challenging test on Wednesday, though, as they’ll take on the Denver Nuggets, but after that, the schedule lightens up. Minnesota has one of the easiest remaining strength of schedule figures in the league, which clears a path to make a charge up the standings.

Fortunately, the Timberwolves are getting healthy at the right time to capitalize on their upcoming schedule. Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle are back from their injuries, meaning Naz Reid should continue to thrive off the bench, and Donte DiVincenzo is also back to spell Mike Conley. The Timberwolves need their supporting cast to be healthy and ready to roll on a game-to-game basis, as Anthony Edwards can’t do all the heavy lifting on his own.

Edwards is having an excellent season, though, and is a superstar in his own right with averages of 27.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.1 steals, while shooting 44.1% from the floor and a career-high 40.6% from 3-point range. Opposing defenses can focus on stopping Edwards if he doesn’t have enough support on the floor, and that’s exactly what the likes of Randle, Gobert and Conley can provide.

The Timberwolves have weathered the storm nicely and find themselves in a good position in the standings. They sit seventh in the Western Conference with a 37-29 record, but they’re only a half-game behind the Warriors in the race for the sixth seed. They’re 3.5 games behind the fifth-placed Rockets, but only 5.5 games behind the second-placed Nuggets. Dreaming about a Top 4 seed may be a bridge too far, but based on the way the Timberwolves are playing and their favorable remaining schedule, there’s no doubt their playoff hopes are trending in the right direction.